A Downtown Wedding at Steamwhistle Brewery with Kristie & Matt

These two were non. stop. smiles all day long. But that’s how your wedding day should be right?

Non stop smiles, non stop laughter, non stop love. I don’t think anyone would be surprised to learn that Kristie & Matt host a trivia night at their local pub, Whelan’s Gate (right beside High Park)— they really, truly, and genuinely are that personable, and fun. They are all about having a good time, not taking things too seriously, and if I had to give them a life motto I think it would be laughter is good for the soul.

More often than not when we’re shooting people’s ‘I’m so awkward I don’t know what to do’ reaction is to laugh which really is a great to lean into because it turns out well for photos. But Kristie and Matt just meshed together so well throwing out joke after joke both at their enagement session earlier in the summer, and again on their wedding day. And their light hearted presence around their family and friends was so clear too, truly every single person on their wedding day was non stop smiles.

They both started their day together at the Marriott City Centre (right next door to the Rogers Centre and a stones throw away to their venue, Steamwhistle) and while Kristie did help put the finishing touches on Matt’s suit before he took off, he did not see her in advance of their ceremony. Kristie finished getting ready with her family before we all took the 3 minute walk over to the brewery to do their first look. Being surrounded by city landmarks like the CN Tower and Ripley’s Aquarium it should have come as no surprise to the number of people stopping to applaud or congratulate both Kristie solo on our walk over, and then with Matt when we were walking around for portraits later, but I still was surprised! When we shoot in the city it’s not uncommon for this to happen, but given the area we were in is a super touristy spot, we even had ppl ask to take photos with them!!

Moving on though lol. We have been wanting to shoot at Steamwhistle for a while now, we love the industrial vibe of their event space and how open and bright it is, and it did not disappoint! Having had their legal wedding ceremony earlier in the week they had a friend ‘officiate’ making everything feel so personal and intimate despite their 100+ person headcount. Earlier in the season Hannah tried out an alternate first kiss POV that I absolutely loved, so when I saw how much space there was at the ‘alter’ area I went for it! This point of view doesn’t always work because of space constraints, limited movement, how quickly everything happens, etc., but when it does it definitely is a stellar shot!

click the photos below to enlarge and browse through

a personal favourite touch was all of their sinage being a nod to an iconic—gone but not forgotten— toronto landmark, honest ed’s

From their welcome signage to drink specials it was a fun personal touch to bring into the space. Speeches are one of our favourite parts of the evening— they’re a fun way to get to know our couples a little bit more, from a different perspective— and having Kristie & Matt’s siblings share a few words about them was so endearing and filled the room with so much laughter. A unique twist that Matt’s sisters incorporated into their speech was doing a quick trivia night game with everyone, which for context spoke perfectly to them because Kristie & Matt host a weekly trivia night at their local bar.

Following their wedding Kristie & Matt had the nicest words to share about shooting with Stef:

We could not have been happier with our experience with Stef and Rosewood Studios. From the booking to the engagement shoot to the day of the wedding, Stef was a joy to work with. True professionals, Stef made us feel so comfortable - when we first met for our engagement shoot we felt like we’d known her for years! And the day of the wedding was beyond my expectations. We had so much fun working with Stef and our photos turned out so amazing! I would (and have) recommend Rosewood Studios to anyone planning a wedding in the GTA. You will not be disappointed!